Have you ever noticed yellow or brown drips on your bathroom walls? Luckily there’s an easy explanation and cure to get rid of the ‘rain’
It’s perfectly normal when moving into a new property, whether you’re renting or have bought, to have to give it a good clean before settling in properly. And naturally, there will always be little issues and quirks that pop up after several days, weeks, or months that you didn’t notice before.
However, sometimes a problem comes along that leaves you completely baffled and struggling to find a solution. One woman shared such a mess on social media after weeks of trying to clean it off her walls.
Posting an image of her ‘dripping’ walls, she wrote: “Recently moved in here and keep noticing these yellow marks dripping down the walls. It also sticks my organizers to my bathroom sinks and leaves marks. Does anybody know what this is? This bathroom in general was pretty gross when I moved in I’ve tried to clean but the paint is coming off in a lot of parts of it too. Any tips would be amazing!”
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People who spotted the Reddit post were quick to offer a solution. One person explained: “That’s called surfactant leaching. Usually happens in spots with more moisture, such as bathrooms. It wipes off pretty easily.”
Another user responded: “It will stop with time, sometimes days, sometimes months, but it will stop. Persevere and just keep wiping it off (no chemicals needed, just wipe while humid). It’s to do with the conditions in which the area was painted.
“Not quality of paint or anything: basically just took too long to dry is all – and that is why it’s so common in damper areas like bathrooms. That is also why it’ll eventually go, just takes longer than elsewhere after painting.”
Other people reading were stunned by the explanation, with one commenting that they thought it was dirt showing itself after a hot shower. While someone else offered: “It definitely can be dirt. My bathroom walls looked like this after showers. They brought a heavy-duty cleaner in who said the prior tenant must have smoked in the bathroom.”
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According to paint manufacturer Dulux, surfactant leaching occurs when poor drying conditions cause the paint to dry too slowly, allowing the chemicals to rise to the surface of the paint film in concentrated amounts and thereby leaving oily or sticky deposits or residues on the painted surface.
The best way to deal with it is by rinsing the area with fresh water or using a mild soapy solution and a soft cloth or sponge, followed by a thorough rinse with clean water. To prevent it from happening, they recommend using special bathroom paint and allowing it to dry completely, even up to seven days, before exposing it to humidity.
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